Chapter 16

After Xiao Hongyi and Jiang Lianyue left, Jiang Chen headed towards the summit of the Ninth Peak.There, the main hall of the Ninth Peak was located, and it was also where the disciples lived.

Usually, he would never go there.

The reason was simple: his Junior Brothers and Sisters all despised him, and he felt the same discontent.

In that case, it was better not to see each other. If they did meet, then he would do what a villain should do and collect system rewards.

Walking along the ancient brick road, the disciples of the Ninth Peak who saw Jiang Chen all showed fear on their faces.

These people were the disciples of the various elders of the Ninth Peak, unlike the true disciples like Jiang Chen and Jiang Lianyue, and they were usually responsible for various tasks.

At this time, many disciples were cleaning the white tiles leading to the main hall, but someone shouted:

“Eldest Senior Brother is coming!”

In an instant, most of the sweeping disciples scattered like birds and beasts, disappearing in a flash.

A few disciples who were closer to Jiang Chen and had caught his attention had no choice but to step forward with trembling hearts and salutes.

“Greetings to Eldest Senior Brother…”

“Mhm.”

With a slight nod, Jiang Chen no longer paid them any attention.

This allowed the disciples to breathe a sigh of relief.

“You, go clean my wooden hut and bring supplies over.” Jiang Chen suddenly pointed at a female disciple.

“Ah?” The female disciple turned pale with fright.

“What ‘ah’? Didn’t you hear me?”

Jiang Chen’s eyes were fierce, and his attitude was unpleasant as he said, “Remember, the only water I drink must be the spiritual spring water from the peak of Ninth Peak. The spiritual rice I eat must be of the finest quality! The spiritual fruits can be average, but they must be fruits that are harvested at least once every ten years!”

Upon hearing this, the corners of the female disciple’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

Even the peak master, Xiao Hongyi, wasn’t so particular in her daily life.

“I will go back and check later. If there is a speck of dust in the wooden pavilion, you know what the consequences will be,” Jiang Chen said in a calm voice.

Although he spoke softly, the female disciple was so frightened that she nearly lost her composure and almost collapsed on the spot.

Perhaps since the last time Jiang Chen was severely punished by Xiao Hongyi, he dared not do anything too outrageous within the sect. But with the massacre of the Ma family still fresh in everyone’s minds, no one wanted to be the target of his attention.

“Why don’t you go quickly?” Jiang Chen frowned.

“I… I’ll go right now!” The female disciple was so scared that she jumped up and fled in panic.

During her escape, she was so terrified that she almost fell off the stone path and into the ravine. The other disciples watching from a distance could only sigh and express their helplessness.

Continuing on his way, Jiang Chen arrived at his destination.

Before him stood a three-story library pavilion with red pillars and blue tiles, exuding an ancient charm.

If one listened closely, they could hear the sound of reading aloud from within.

“A gentleman is cautious and does not deceive in the dark. He humbles himself and nurtures his character while maintaining integrity.”

“Confucius said: A gentleman who is not solemn will not be respected, and his learning will not be solid. Uphold loyalty and trust, associate only with those better than yourself, and do not hesitate to correct your mistakes.”

“Confucius also said: A gentleman does not stumble before others, does not lose composure before others, and does not misspeak before others. Therefore, the gentleman’s demeanor commands respect, his presence commands caution, and his words command belief.”

Hearing these recitations, Jiang Chen sneered.

He strode forward and forcefully pushed open the red doors of the library.

“Bang—”

The recitation stopped abruptly.

Inside the library, a young man dressed in a blue scholar’s robe with a ceremonial cap and a fair complexion stood with a book in one hand and the other behind his back, his expression darkening.

“Second Junior Brother, you always talking about gentlemen, truly worthy of being Ninth Peak’s ‘Sage of Books’! But aren’t you a bit weak? I merely sparred with you, and you ended up bedridden for over a month!” Jiang Chen said mockingly.

This young man was Lin Mubai, the second true disciple taken by Xiao Hongyi after Jiang Chen.

Precisely speaking, Lin Mubai’s talent for cultivation was absolutely the best among Xiao Hongyi’s disciples.

Jiang Lianyue, though possessing the potential of an empress, was not much different from Jiang Chen in terms of cultivation talent.

They were both considered one in ten thousand cultivators.

But Lin Mubai was different.

He possessed an Innate Dao Bone, specifically in the rib bone near his heart!

Those with Innate Dao Bone face no bottlenecks in cultivation. Whether it’s the sword path, the saber path, or the pill path, they can integrate and comprehend with just a glance. (TLN: Swords: double-edged, Sabers: single-edged.)

Breaking through several realms is as easy as eating and drinking when they enter a state of sudden epiphany.

Such talent appears once in ten thousand years!

Of course, there are drawbacks. That is, those with Innate Dao Bone lack sufficient destiny and seem to be envied by heaven and earth, thus facing many tribulations.

With Lin Mubai’s talent, if he had focused on cultivation, his achievements would not be low even if he couldn’t become a great emperor.

But he was stubborn.

From a young age, he loved reading and did not wish to pursue the path of martial arts.

Instead, he aspired to emulate the Scholar Emperor, enduring thousands of years of cold study.

Though his cultivation made no progress, by reading the books of sages, he cultivated a vast and righteous spirit, aiming to one day attain the throne of an emperor!

It was for this reason that Lin Mubai had only reached the Core Formation Initial Formation stage despite having an Innate Dao Bone. This was still due to the Innate Dao Bone automatically absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!

In the original text, Lin Mubai regarded Jiang Chen with disdain since becoming a disciple of Xiao Hongyi.

He studies the books of sages and cultivates an aura of righteousness, naturally finding it hard to tolerate the villainous Eldest Senior Brother who does nothing but evil.

The two frequently argue, and Jiang Chen often beats him up, putting them at odds like fire and water.

Through nine cycles of reincarnation, Jiang Chen continuously extends goodwill, hoping to change Lin Mubai’s prejudices against him.

However, Lin Mubai has long decided that his Eldest Senior Brother is beyond redemption and thus remains wary of this so-called ‘goodwill’.

Even if Lin Mubai’s view of Jiang Chen improves, it is often shattered again due to the protagonist’s instigation and various coincidental events, sending any positive feelings plummeting once more.

A month ago. Lin Mubai couldn’t stand watching Jiang Chen take away the ‘Jade Spirit Grass’ that their Third Junior Sister was preparing to use for a breakthrough.

But as soon as he tried to intervene, Jiang Chen, beat him so severely under the pretext of ‘seeing a Senior Brother and not paying respects’ that he was bedridden for over a month.

This incident made it clear to him.

Eldest Senior Brother Jiang Chen is the epitome of evil in this world!

If one day he succeeds in attaining the imperial throne through the literary path, he must punish the wicked, promote the good, and cleanse the universe!

With a look of disgust at Jiang Chen, Lin Mubai shook his head slightly.

He carefully put away the book in his hands as if it were a treasure, then gently placed it on the desk, incidentally dusting off the book’s cover.

After finishing, he turned to look at Jiang Chen and said indifferently, “Eldest Senior Brother, if you wish to beat me, could we please leave the library first? These books are the culmination of my life’s work. Damaging even a single page would be worse than killing me.”

Clearly, he had grown accustomed to being beaten by Jiang Chen.

“Aren’t you going to resist? I’ve been demoted by our master and lost my Core Formation. Now my cultivation level is similar to yours,” Jiang Chen retorted.

“I have abandoned the martial path for the scholarly one. There’s no reason for me to resist with force.”

Lin Mubai shook his head, “Senior Brother can beat me if he wishes. Just don’t knock me out again. In exchange, I won’t mention this to our master.”

“Afraid of passing out again? What, are you scared?” Jiang Chen asked with a teasing look on his face.

“Not at all.”

Lin Mubai shook his head again and explained, “It would interfere with my reading time.”

What is this guy talking about?

Jiang Chen was speechless.

As Lin Mubai said, Jiang Chen really did come to beat someone up.

After all, as a villain, it was only ‘natural’ for him to ‘take care’ his Junior Brother who had just woken up from a coma.

But Lin Mubai’s attitude of ‘hurry up and hit me, I’m on a schedule’ made it all rather dull for him.

Suddenly, Jiang Chen had an idea, his eyes lighting up.

In a swift motion, he appeared at the desk, casually picking up a book and smiling, “Second Junior Brother, as everyone knows, you hold books dearer than life. I wonder what would you do if I were to destroy all the books in this library?”

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As soon as these words were spoken, Lin Mubai’s calm demeanor vanished, replaced by a look of panic.

【Host’s actions conform to the villain’s character setting, congratulations to the host for the cultivation progress from Core Formation Initial Formation early stage to mid-stage】

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